Means for weaving fabrics



June 17; 1930. l g T' 1,764,577 MEANS FOR WEAVI ILG FABRICS Y Filed Oct.22,1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 17, 1930. w. NICOLET 1,764,577

MEANS 'FOR WEAVING mmuc's Filed Oct. 22, 1928 '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 worn M Wmy.

June 17,1930. w. NICOLET MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS I Filed Oct. 22, 192%-4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 17, 1930.

'w. NICOLET MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 22.1928 Patented June 17, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE/1 WALTERNICOLET, F LEIPZIG, GERMANY MEAN S FOR WEAVING FABRIGS Application filedOctober 22, 1928, Serial No. 314,278, and in Germany October 24, 1927.

My invention refers to the art of weaving and more especially to themethod and means disclosed in my copending applications for patent ofthe United States, Serial 5 Nos. 73,718, filed December 7, 1925,194,882,

filed May 26, 1927 and 200,650, filed June 22, 1927. The presentinvention is an improvement upon the methods and means 'disclosed andsought to be protected in the above mentioned applications and has. for

its particular object to prevent failure in the operation and a correctcooperation of the threads in forming the fabric.

According to the weaving method .dis-

closed in my patent application aforesaid No. 73,718, two groups of warpthreads, one

of which may extend at an angle to the other, are operated upon to formtwo sheds,

a closed shed and an open shed to the rear of such closed shed, a weftthread being passed simultaneously or one after the other through eachshed. In the operation of this method, the weft entered in the closedshed is cast on first and after the shedding members have then beenoperated to open the closed shed, and extending the open shed up to thefabric, the weft thread entered in the permanently open shed is cast onopen. The threads of both groups of warp threads are guided in holesprovided in the teeth of a pair of shedding members,

one for each group, which move in parallel.

relative to each other. The casting on of the weft threads is effectedby means of reciprocating reeds, the weft threads being entered in thesheds in any desired manner, for instance into the open shed from astationary bobbin by means of a thread guide reciprocating in the openshed transversely to the Warp. The end of this weft threadwhiclr'adjoins the fabric extends in parallel to the warp threads andlaterally thereof, and the weft thread then extends at an angle to thewarp threads. Obviously this oblique warp threads is disadvantageous asregards a proper action of the reed. Therefore, means must be providedfor carrying the weft thread forward towards the fabric position of therear weft relative to thebefore the thread is cast on, these means be-.

warp threads can be transferred from the oblique position into theposition at right angles to the warp threads only if-the weft thread istaut. If the thread is not sufficiently taut the action of the forwardcar-' ryi-ng means will only result in the weft thread extending betweenthe warp threads in a curved line and in this case it will happenveryfrequently that the reed is unable to'fully catch thecurved weft thread,whereby parts of this thread will be left behind, and in the nextfollowing shedding operation will prevent the formation of a correctshed.

I have found that in order to insure correct operation, it is imperativethat the weft thread extending between the warp threads be placedentirely in front of'the reed and be kept as taut as possible. I obtainthis according to the present invention by causing the shedding membersto move apart allowing the rear weft thread to pass through betweenthem, before the weft thread guide has completed its course between thewarp threads. When the weft thread now continues its course, the weftthread which at first extends from the fabric over the point of crossingof the Warp threads at an angle towards the thread guide is tightenedguide and pushing or a and will now extend from the fabric tothe mgmeans are operated to carry out an additional lateral movement so thatthe weft thread is tightened simultaneously by the thread guide and bythe forward carrying means.

Alternately the thread guide may remain stationary while the fo carryingmeans are operated, and a separate tightening means may be providedwhich is set operating during the operation of the forward carryingmeans.

In the drawings afiixed to this specification and forming part thereof,the new weaving method and the means for carrying same into effect areillustrated diagrammatically by way of example.

Figs. 1 and Qbeing a side elevation and plan view respectively of theparts of a loom as disclosed in my copending applications for patentaforesaid, aweft thread being introduced into the rear open shed.

Figs. 3 and14 are similar views of the arts, in which however the closedshed has een opened and the weft thread guide has continued its course,part of the weft thread lpassing through between the shedding memers.

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views showing the parts in the position wherethe weft thread, while being carried forward towards the fabric, istightened, both by the action of the thread guide and separatetightening nieans.

Figs. 7 to 10 illustrate a different mode of operation, Figs. 7 and 9being side elevations and Figs. 8 and 10 plan-views of parts of asimilar loom, in which however the operation of the parts is so timedthat the shedding members move apart only after the thread guide hascompleted its course between the warp threads.

Figs. 11 to 13 illustrate auxiliary means for guidingthe weft threadwhile it is being introduced into the open shed, Figs. 11 and 12 beingside elevations drawn to a larger scale of the shedding members, whileFig.

13 is a plan view.

Referring'to the drawings and first to- Figs. 1 to 6, 3 and 4 are thetwo groups of warp threads, and 5 and 6 are the two reciprocatingshedding members, through holes in the teeth of which the warp threadsextend, being so arranged as to diverge from the shedding members to therear in the direction of the warp beams (not shown). In consequence of.this arrangement, when'the two shedding members 5 and 6 are drawn.apart, as shown in Fig. 3, the two groups of warp threads extend at anangle from the fabric or on the other hand, if the two shed ding members5 and 6 are moved towards each other, the groups of warp threads 3 and 4are crossed, the apex of the angle formed by the warp threads being nowpositioned in the line of crossing of the warp threads and to the rearof the shedding members. There.-

is now formed a closed or front shed :in front of the shedding membersandan open or rear shed to the rear of the shedding membersand to theline of crossing. (Fig. 1). In thesetwo sheds weft threads arenowentered, the weft thread 9 in the closed or front shed, the weftthread 11 in the open or rear shed.

The entering of the weft thread 11 in the rear shed is eifected from astationary weft bobbin 16 by means of a thread guide 18. This threadguide may be of any desired kind; in the present case it is shown asconsistingof an eye-shaped hook guided in a slotted tube 18 by acord orchain (not shown). During the entering of the weft thread 11 by thethread guide 18 the weft thread 11 in its portion adjoining the fabricextends sideways of the warp threads and substantially in parallel tothem as far as the crossing line (Fig 2),

warp threads. On each side of the warp threads and to the rear of thetube 18 is arranged a hook-shaped rock lever 19 form- 'ing a forwardcarrying means. Whenever and from this line to the thread guide 18obliquely to the the rock lever would not be able to carry it forward intaut condition. In order to prevent this, the movements of the shedding'members 5 and6 and of the thread guide 18 are so timed, that theshedding members move apart, While the thread guide 18 is still on itscourse between the warp threads. After the closed shed has been opened(Figs. 3 and 4) the weft thread can now pass through between them. Onthe thread guide 18 continuing its course, first the angle formed in theweft thread at the crossing line (Fig. 2) will disappear, the weftthread llbeing tightened and now extending in a straight line, butobliquely to the warp threads from the fabric to the thread guide inorder to permanently keep it taut, while the rock lever 19 advances tocarry it forward towards the fabric, the thread guide 18 continuesmoving also after rock lever 19 has gripped the weft thread, until thislever has reached its .end position, having carried the weft thread inreach of the reed (Fig. 6). The reed 10 on starting in its castmg onoperation now meets the taut weft thread so that the casting on can becorrectly effected.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the shedding members may be moved apart andthe closed shed may be opened while the weft thread 'de 18 is stillbetween the warp threads %li ig. 4) The shedding members may howeveralso he actuated in such manner as to move apart only after the weftthread guide I has already passed through between the warp threads andhas reached the other s1de.

I planation.

This later case is illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10, which does not needany, further ex- The later the shedding members are moved apart, thelonger will be the distance through which the weft thread guide must bemoved after the thread has been 18 after having passed the warp threadsis not desirable or possible, a special means for tightening the weftthread may be provided, e. g. a rocking lever which stretches the weftthread during its forward movement.

Obviously the weft thread 11, as long as it extends at an angle from thefabric to the thread guide, will exert on the outermost warp threads aconsiderable tension at the crossing point, and this tension may causeeither the weft thread or the outermost warp threads to be torn. Inorder to prevent this I prefer mounting on the ends of the sheddingmembers 5 and 6 guards 20,

which may be made of sheet metal or the like, the front edges of theguards of a pair disposed on one side of the Warp threads, which rareaverted from the fabric, being tapered at an angle which ma besubstantially the same as the angle of the crossed warp threads so thatthey extend substantially in parallel to the crossed warp threads. Iprefer arranging these edges somewhat farther away from .the fabric thanthe crossed warp threads, so that the weft thread .11 will not be in aposition to come in contact with the warp threads at their .crossingpoint, but will rest between I the crossed edges of the guards 20. Onthe shedding members being moved apart the crossing point of the edgesof the guards will move together with the crossing point of the warpthreads towards the shedding members 5 and 6 and the weft thread 11 willbe retained by and glide on the smooth edges of the guards until theseguards have moved apart also. Owing to the circumstance that the guardsdo not cross when the closed shed is opened, the weft thread 11 is nowenabled to freely move towards the fabric without coming in contact withthe warp threads.

Obviously instead of using full sheet metal guards or'the like, I mightalso use ordinary wires or the like for preventing the weft thread fromjumping forward too soon. a

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described for Ohviousmodifications will occur *to a person skilled in the art.

In the claims aflixed to this specification no selection of anyparticular modification of the invention is intended to the exclusion ofother modifications thereof and the right to subsequently make claim toany modification not covered by these claims is expressly reserved.

I claim:

-1. The method of weaving "which comprises moving the warp threads so asto form in each alternate operation two sheds,

.a closed shed and an open shed to the rear of said closed shed, causinga weft thread to enter said closed shed and. another weft thread toenter said open'shed, casting on. the first mentioned weft thread,causing the warp threads to move relative to each other so as to openthe closed shed and extend the open shed up to the fabric before therear weft thread has reached the end of its course, carrying the secondmentioned weft ing-on position, causing said weft thread to be carriedforward in the direction towards the fabric while it is still on itscourse, and

simultaneously tightening it and casting it 2. Loom comprising means formoving the warp threads so as to form in each alternate operation twosheds, a closed shed and anopen shed to the rear of said closed shed,

means for entering weft threads in both said sheds, means for causingthe warp threads to move relative to each other and for opening theclosed shed before the weft'thread has been fully entered in 'said openshed, and means for carrying this weft thread forward in the directiontowards the fabric while said thread'is still on itscourse.

8. Loom comprising means for moving the warp threads so as to form ineach alternateoperation two sheds, a closed shed and an open shed'to therear of said closed shed, means for entering weft threads to both saidsheds, means for causing thewarp threads to move-relative to each otherand for open ing the closed shed before the weft thread has been fullyentered insaidopen shed, means for carrying this weft thread forward inthe direction towards the fabric while said thread is still on itscourse and means for retaining said weft thread during the carryingforward.

4. Loom comprising means for :mo'ving the warp threads so as to form ineach alternate thread forward towards the fabric into castoperation twosheds, a closed shed and an open shed to the rear of said closed shedmeans for entering weft threads in both said sheds, means for causingthe warp threads to move relative to each other and for opening theclosed shed before the weft thread has been fully entered in said rearshed, and weft thread retaining means at the ends of said sheddingmembers.

5. Loom comprising means for moving the warp threads so as to form ineach alternate operation two sheds, a closed shed and an open shed tothe rear of said closed shed, means for entering weft threads in bothsaid sheds, means for causing the warp threads to move relative to eachother and for opening the closed shed before the weft thread has beenfully entered in said open shed, and'weft thread tightening means at thego ends of said shedding members, said retaining members extendingsubstantially in parallel to the crossed warp threads and crossing eachother at some distance from the crossing plane of said warp threads;

5 6. Loom comprising means for moving the warp threads so as to form ineach alternate operation two sheds, .a closed shed and an open shed tothe rear of said closed shed, means for entering weft threads in bothsaid sheds, means for causing the warp threads to move relative toeachotherand for opening the closed shed before the weft thread has beenfully entered in said open shed, and triangularweft thread retainingmeans at the ends of said shedding members.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

WALTER NICOLET.

